OFFLINE
by XxXColorless RainbowXxX
Summary: Odd never quite understood the feeling of being out of place, not until his disappearance during the final attack against X.A.N.A, where, unbeknown to his friends, he finds himself in a foreign world- the digi world. It is a time of great turmoil in whi


(Offline.)

Odd never quite understood the feeling of being out of place, not until his disappearance during the final attack against X.A.N.A, where, unbeknownst to his friends, he finds himself in a foreign world- the digi world. It is a time of great turmoil in which fate calls out for a hero- _Him_. Pairings- Ulrich x Yumi, Jeremy x Aelita, and perhaps Ulrich x O.C/Sissy.

--

The new strategy plan would have ensured a tip to their favor for the profitable price of nothing. It was to say the least a swift battle that wasn't stressed by the power behind a punch compared to the war plans only a sixteen year old could conjure within the sleepless hours of nights or short periods of the days. It was all about strategy and faith. Jeremie, he lacked little in either department when he sat straight, perched on the suspended seat to the mainframe computer with only the thought of war and the solution to an end, plaguing his mind. X.A.N.A, he long since realized and only then truly acknowledge, was no longer a danger to them, but to the whole world at large, many deaths threatened to accumulate in numbers of millions, maybe even more. The signs were, at first, far at bay. The young genius, Jeremie, knew the problems that would result in keeping the program running (if only for Aelita's sake) but the program was capable of adapting and adjusting to there resistance, and no sooner the struggle led to this: A final showdown.

It wasn't just a battle that he had read about in History books, the stake were much higher than a pitiful invasion of land. X.A.N.A, should he reign complete control of each individual tower- all with the use of a mutation that made the programming much stronger- than the world, every piece of it, would face the horrors of the malevolent entity that, presently, had enough strength to control network lines at an unlimited distance, possess human beings of any choice, have at its arsenal electrical currents of energy to keep it functioning at any hour of the day, and, perhaps, much more. Jeremie, at one point, believed the entity had the ability to materialize within their world, and that alone left unwelcome shivers to scar his composure.

"Alright, guys. You'll have to make the split," he instructed through the attached comm.-link in his ear. The small megaphone picked his voice to transfer the information in Lyoko where the team, that consisted of three individuals (Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi), could follow through with his orders.

And where was he in all this?

It sickened the young boy to know that, during all those years of fighting, he only played the role of spectator while his friends, the only people he ever learned to cherish, put their lives on the line. So, like many times that called, Jeremie remained seated on the padded armchair. It was an essential tool, no less, the best in high-tech that provided plasma monitor screens, and a three-way, linked, keyboard, that helped monitored the activities of the Virtual World. Each open window, which absorbed his stern features in a luminous glow, displayed a secret Armageddon that took place in Lyoko. A visual to the left screen detecting from their life points that remained, to a deathly cold tundra of blue landscape they inhibited. Kankrelats, Krabes, Bloks, Creepers, to Guardians and Hornets- many other undistinguished monsters-, from what he could pick up, represented X.A.NA's destructive army that dotted the world of Lyoko.

Truly, it left a sickening guilt to echo in his stomach whenever he sent them to the fray. It was no longer a safe area to navigate through. Whatever happened in Lyoko, did not essentially stay in Lyoko, battle scars, any physical damage they took in, remained even when they entered the real world; physically and mentally. The game was no longer a form of entertainment, they couldn't afford such luxuries anymore, instead, it was another portal to danger that was not limited to the cyberspace, but the real world as well. As he spoke through, though, he instinctively heard another hard bang from the air locked doors that secured him of the dangers outside- no doubt, X.A.N.A's monsters found it fit to pay him a visit. It came down to two invasions, one that knocked too close to home for Jeremie and another in Lyoko. Perhaps, he wasn't so much of a spectator anymore.

"We need to hurry, let's make this count!" Jeremie encouraged, replacing his attention back to the screen panels. Under him, his fingers worked furiously to punch in the essential keys on the keyboard. In his world, he was fighting back, and currently he was tinkering on a code for an anti-virus to be released.

"Yeah," Odd, in dry mockery, put in, "anything else while we're at it? A milk-shake, maybe some--AHH!"

"Odd!" Jeremie barked. His heart lost more than a few beats and remained, breathlessly, watching the screen, where he heard the distress cut in. The vision in Odd's window had sizzled in a hail of disturbed frequency, and, for that split seconds that traveled in snail-paced length, he believed that was the last outcry of his friend, the final words, but his eyes quickly shifted towards the life points. Seventy percent. Jeremie never believed he would be enthralled in hearing his friend's voice as it broke through the static.

"Hey! That almost got me! Take this you oversize crab! I'll make French food out of you!"

Jeremie, the brains of the operation, the person who first initiated the group, took in a cleansing breath that empowered his ability to work harder on that code, but his mind was distracted.

"Odd! That will cost you if you don't pay attention! Be careful!"

"Yeah,-- yeah. I know. Cut me some slack, Einstein."

"Is something wrong?" Ulrich ventured, diverting Jeremie's attention from scolding down Odd's careless behavior. They had, as he ordered, split from each other's company. A risky plan of action, he now understood, and, as it was, he felt the need of reuniting them. At least in each other's company, he would have a false sense of security that they would be better off together, however, it wasn't apart of the plan, and something as crucial as deactivating each individual tower required their separation.

"Yeah," Yumi volunteered, "is everyone alright?"

Jeremie confirmed, "It's nothing, just keep focus. It's almost over." Pause, "Yumi, your tower should appear in sight. Ulrich, you take a right from where you are, and Odd, continue down that road. If we can deactivate those towers with Aelita's code imprinted in your incarnations, then the chances are that XANA will attack all of you with a Scyphozoa. So be careful."

"Yeah, yeah, Einstein, sing us a new one, it's getting pretty stale. Besides," Odd concluded, "same old show, different monster."

"Very well," he agreed,--. Another slap against metal, Jeremie turned sharply to witness the groans and pains of the metal door being dented by the radical force of XANA to realize how grave the situation was. There just seem to be diminishing hope in his world.

"Hey…Guys after this… Let's go grab a bite at Frisco's Dine. On me," the young prodigy informed. At the very least he had hope. That was what remained in the crucial aftermath of war, or the struggle between it. Not even in the darkness that pressed sharply against the room, would he falter on his expectations. They would win, he was almost sure, even at the cost of a few lives- there own-, which wouldn't amount to a blood bath of millions of others. He had hope, and at that moment, his was set in believing they would win through this round with their lives intact.

Through his ear piece he heard the appreciative cheers of his comrades- his friends- who took him up on that offer, Odd in particular, happy.

"Whow! I don't know, pal, now that I'm thinking about it, you might want to save that for someone else, namely, Aelita," This time, Jeremie was surprised to here Ulrich's teasing voice over the Comm. Link, and if it hadn't been for their distance, they might have witnessed the telltale mark of a blush to decor his face. Aelita, she on the other hand was attending to other business. In fact, the deity of his love, took refuge in another location, the Hermitage, her former house, to activate another safeguard, and anti-virus program, for when XANA appeared in Lyoko. They had it all planned, Jeremie would bait the entity into entering the virtual world while Aelita pulled the last plugs in keeping him locked with her father's help. Yes, Franz Hopper, as he was surprised to find, had been a prisoner to Lyoko and Xana for the longest time, and as of recently, during their mission, they had recuperated him in exchange of overpowering their greatest foe. It was a risky gamble, but to this day it would seem that they had tipped the balance to their favor. With Hopper's help, he was sure they would win, however, regardless, he couldn't help but wish he was there with her. To make sure she was safe.

Odd could only envy them and their innocent love they harbored for one another, true, and untouched by jealousy.

It was an odd train of thought to run off with, but, he suppose, fighting evil and saving the world from absolute domination, made people think over their pitiful lives and what little they've accomplished. Although, the only crux of that conclusion was that Odd had not lived a meaningless life, he was no tormented soul that lived on the fringes of society in hiding; quite the opposite and he made damn sure to remind everyone else about his presence, if not with his vibrant set of clothes then with his charming charisma.

However, as he dashed pass a furious optic blast from a group of bloks, narrowly missing the receiving end of an unforgiving ray of light, he found he had the ability to reflect on himself. Would he have been here today if he had met Ulrich? At this opportunity that met his curious mind, he had to wonder whether he would regret making such a choice.--Well, if anything, his life has been everything but boring, that much he did not regret, or rather, he had few things to regret. Except- and he cringed, phased by the angry, hot, burn that peeled away a small line of skin- he regretted not paying enough attention.

With feline quickness, Odd dodged, and deliberately pinned down a groan from being overheard by the omnipresent voice of the de facto leader, but Jeremie's was quick to draw his attention.

"Odd!"

"I'm alright," he defended, before delivering an arsenal of arrows towards the offending creatures. Only a few met its target, two Blok's instantly destroyed, however, three more still remain, looming with the blank face hostility of his enemy. Where they capable of wondering as he did? Could they think? Did they realize what this final hour meant? Again, his mind did stray at the face of danger, just for a second, for that was as much of time that he would allow, before squatting into a jump that gracefully bypassed the stinging rays of two crabs.

"That's it, enough games." Once he had landed a good distance into the tundra of his path- he could just barely see the tower that needed to be deactivated- Odd aimed his projectile launcher towards the closest Crab and…

"Damn it," he hissed, aware just then that he had run out of arrows. He pulled back, took a few steps. Odd Della Robia cringed against their opaque stares and crimson metal frames. The boy had slipped, he screwed up just one too many times, and this was it, the last straw. Staring back at him, he could see how the marble spheres of his opponent's eyes captured the fright of his reflection, he did not want to go down like this, it just wasn't his style. Words, however, refused to leave his parted lips. The crabs, some flyers as well that appeared during his battle, now looked down on him, and Odd had the impression that they were only improvising to savor his discomfort in their beady line of vision. Simultaneously, the two Crabs that opposed him with mutual disdain, generated the force of their beams from the tip of their mouth in preparation for a death blow, and it was only then, with the cold sweat accumulated to the back of his head, did Odd react without the weight of hesitation to pull him down. The young boy leaped directly into the line of fire, his enhanced feline abilities permitted the advantage against gravity so his leap, was in fact, a disregard to the laws of gravitation, defining the space of twelve, or more, feet from the ground. His lethal form bounced on one crab to which his opposing partner fired its deadly projectile, striking it scarlet kin while Odd escaped unscathed in a summersault.

More beams.

An outcry.

Jeremie insisted on projecting his booming voice in a warning or something of the sort- Odd just couldn't afford to listen as he dodged a series of attacks. Against the sailing light that promise to nip more than just the hairs of his skin, Odd took the last remaining Crab with the assistance of a stray ray. For as much as he was a carefree individual, the young blonde incorporated his no nonsense, seriousness, with the athletic skills that matched, to some extent, that of his team mates -minus Aelita and Jeremie, of course- and it was for that same reason that he managed to inhale a breath of relief. With sweeping movements of flying limbs, he succeeded in destroying the last crab and a flyer.

"Well, that wasn't too hard," Odd said, "See, Jeremie and there you doubted me for a minute, Einstein!"

"ODD, LOOK OUT!"

Bewildered, yet under the influence of an adrenaline surge, Odd turned sharply around to search the source of Jeremie's worry, but his advanced optical eyes could not spot the imminent danger. Not until it was too late. An energy blast harbored from the skies- Odd couldn't distinguish what threw it- inched ever so close to his proximities.

"Odd!"

If death had a definite form, than he was sure to have missed it, the young boy closed his eyes, and within the connection that would have sealed his faith in pain and ominous darkness, something foreign and indistinct countered the shot- a wave of electric interference. What consisted of the cybernetic plains within Lyoko, from the ice tundra to the hot dessert section where Ulrich journeyed, a series of uncontrolled static interfered with the image. Odd saw its manifestation when he dared peek in slits when he realized that no pain penetrated his body. What he saw was a ripple in the sky at first just like a hazel of black and gray spots that he identified through a dead channel; only this one was not limited to the size of a box in his television. At first it was an elastic line over the sky, a thin film of it, before another strip replaced the earth below where Odd stood. Eventually, everything was consumed by it.

No transmission.

"Jeremie, what the hell is going on!"

"I don't kno--"

"Ulric! Odd! Yumi! RESPOND!"

"Agumon!"

"I'm on it, Tai," the digimon with reptilian traits, and green piercing eyes, shot a jet of fire directed solemnly at his opponent, Lunamon, a creature much like Agumon that resembled a snow white rabbit. It had more features distinguished by its digital traits in the sense that it had four ears protruding from its head rather than two, arcs of blue decorated its pale body, and golden crests marked its head and chest, which was heaving to catch its breath. The small humanoid beast dodged to the side to avoid the blaze of fire and in turn, it attacked with a fierce dedication of killing devotedly in its mind.

"DEMI DART!"

An explosion of purple darts throttled from the creature as it spun around.

"TAKE COVER, AGUMON!"

Tai crutched down to avoid the rapid delivery of poisoned darts while his digimon faced the projectiles head on, mighty claws exposed and arms spread but with an eye for accuracy, he managed to knock them away with four swipes.

Around them, the two foes may not have caught their bearings completely, not when, in the span of their life, they had grown accustomed to the animalistic forest that bloomed with thick gigantic trees all of which hoisted blue canopy on pale white branches that stretched for miles on end, and tucked in-between were these large, twisting mountains forged by crystals and foreign minerals. Within the battlefield the undergrowth dangled knee deep, dancing by a new omnipresent wind that shuffled away Tai's words of warning. Something changed in that course of time, but no one noticed. There was only the tension drawn by the battle. No one paused to take a chance look around, not even those fleeted glance that could distract one another from a quick win, Agumon dashed forward to deliver a deadly swipe from his paw, and the smaller creature countered it with a lithe jump.

"You're going to have to do better than that, midget," Lunamon taunted. As she did so, however, Agumon pepper breath zipped pass her head, nearly getting a clean hit.

"May I make a suggestion?"- Tai's antagonist began. She was, by Tai's first impression, a young digidestine girl, around his age he presumed, and not quite the threat you would normally encounter from such a lanky figure, but he didn't see beyond the details for he only cared to know that she was an agent of evil among the small band that made up Puppetmon's elite group. The dark haired- girl positioned herself out of harms way just a few feet behind her digimon- as did Tai, so her words bounced in an annoyed outcry.

"Give up your digivice or else!"

"No way! You're going to have to do better than that if you're going to intimidate me! Agumon, finish her off!"

"PEPPER BREATH!"

"LUNA CLAW!"

The conclusion of the battle wasn't met so quickly, both forces collided and in an eruption of smoke nothing became clear, except for one cry which belonged to neither party. It was a far off sound that Tai barely managed to receive through the broken shards of ground and the eruption of power coming from the impact of both digimon.

There was a glitch within the digital world, something unpronounced by a warning, simply, another wave of static that felt so real, so close, it frizzled Tai's nerves, and not far off he could hear a distant sound of friction and then something ripped… It was impossible to describe the phenomenon that occurred but his senses felt keen and he knew something was off the instant another ominous wind, this time, far stronger from the previous one, slammed hard against him. Another cry for help pushed through the barrier, and before he knew it, the presence of a strange creature developed out of thin air, falling from the sky like a shooting star--.

He was distracted. Tai's head craned up to witness a purple blur come crashing to the earth, except, against all laws broken by the ones governing the digital world, he didn't crash into a creator, something beyond his understanding cushioned the fall of this-this creature, he wasn't sure what it was, not even when this humanoid hovered safely to the ground ever so close to the battlefield, appearing bewildered. There were so many adjectives to describe the boy- or so he assumed it to be- but above all, the word that hit nearest to the nail was 'odd'. An odd digimon that had a cross between human and a feline with a bad sense of fashion, Tai concluded. _A very tasteless sense of fashion, donning a purple suit and sporting a peculiar two-toned hairstyle._ It would not be to his surprise that even his current enemy was also distracted by this digimon, that was until it spoke- again, all sense failed the poor creature when his head tilted back and forth in a vain search for the unknown.

"Jeremy! I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore! _Jeremy_?"


End file.
